Tag Archives: lens

Along with the a6300, Sony has unveiled a new range of flagship lenses which they dubbed the G-Master series. The first three lenses under this series are: The 24-70mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.4 and 70-200mm f/2.8. These sit above their previous high-end G series lenses, and therefore also command a premium price. Along with the lenses are two new teleconverters (1.4x and 2.0x) to go with the 70-200mm f/2.8.

We briefly touched on the other Nikon releases, so here is a bit more detail, starting with the Nikon AF-S 20mm f/1.8G. With it Nikon has pretty much refreshed and improved a lot of their primes from 20mm to 85mm. All that’s missing is a 24mm f/1.8G. If you told me back when I was still shooting film that for a bit more I could have got a f/1.8 instead of a f/2.8 version I would have said you were nuts. Continue reading More On Nikon’s Nikkor AF-S 20mm f/1.8G and SB-500→

The Fujinon XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR (what a mouthful) was announced quite some time back in one of Fujifilm’s lens roadmaps and it has been highly anticipated since. The wait is finally over and Fujifilm finally launched it today. This acronym-laden lens is no ordinary superzoom. It is designed to go along with the weather-sealed Fujifilm X-T1 and is the first weather-resistant lens in the Fujifilm lineup of lenses.

What is more impressive however, is the stabilisation technology Fujifilm has built into the lens. Utilising two high-precision gyro sensors, it promises an unprecedented 5 stops of image stabilisation. This means that you can shoot at 1/30s what would previously require a shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second and still have a sharp image (unless of course, your subject moves.)

The lens will set you back US$900 and is available from July.

YS: It all sounds nice, but I bet all of you are waiting for the f/2.8 zooms, right? Right?

In the world of 35mm full-frame cameras, the 85mm focal length is a favourite among portrait shooters. All the major camera makers like Nikon and Canon both have this focal length in the lens line-up, offering both a f/1.8 and the more expensive f/1.4 and f/1.2 flavours – the latter being very popular with the professionals.

Today, Nikon launched the 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 portrait lens for their Nikon 1 system. This is equivalent to 86mm f/3.2 on full-frame systems, thanks to the 2.7x crop factor of the 1-series cameras. The maximum aperture of f/1.2 makes it the fastest lens for the Nikon 1 System to date.

The lens features a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for super fast focussing as well as Nano Crystal Coat and Close Range Correction (CRC) for sharp, distortion-free images. A M/A (autofocus with manual override) mode lets you manually focus the lens during AF operation, something that’s not commonly seen on the 1-series lenses.

Priced at a rather ridiculous ambitious US$899.95, the lens will be available from June.

YS: US$900 is going to be stretching it. I imagine a lot of people would rather buy the AF-S 50/1.4 with a competent DSLR like the D5200. Sure, it’s bigger, but this is one point where the trade-off for size is no longer worth it. At least in my opinion.

Launched 12 years ago, the original AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR was Nikon’s first lens to offer Vibration Reduction technology, something which Canon had for a long time. It wasn’t a spectacular lens, unfortunately. Twelve years later, Nikon finally releases an update to that lens with an improved optical formula and an SWM motor for quick focussing. Hopefully this will address the many issues that users had with the older lens, e.g. unstable tripod collar, AF hunting, etc. The lens will be available in early April 2013 for a SRP of US$2,700.